NFL Plans Monday Night Wild Card Playoff Game

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
last updated

Broadcaster yet to be determined for Jan. 17 contest

Lamar Jackson in 2021 AFC Wild Card game
Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens against the Tennessee Titans in a 2021 AFC wild card game. (Image credit: Allen Kee/ESPN Images)

The National Football League on Friday said that this season’s wild card playoff weekend will conclude with a Monday night game on Jan. 17.

The broadcaster for that Monday night game has yet to be determined, the NFL said.

The league has been making efforts to create better matchups and better games for its TV partners, which this year signed new long-term deals worth more than $100 million. During the regular season, Monday Night Football on ESPN is one of the highest-rated shows on TV.

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Last season, the NFL altered its playoff format letting a third wild card team in each conference compete for a chance to play in the Super Bowl. The addition created what the league is calling “Super Wild Card Weekend.“

Super Wild Card Weekend will have two games on Saturday, three on Sunday and one on Monday night.

For this season, CBS and NBC will each broadcast two wild card games, while Fox and ESPN/ABC will have one.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.